Category: undaunted

undaunted · undeterred

A teacher will always be a teacher

blogdeserena2 Comments

A teacher will always be a teacher, despite all the odds against her. This is true for me as on August 6, the very same day that teachers were to be assigned a teaching post in the Balearic Islands, I was denied the possibility to continue my teaching career in Spain. This came in the form of a law that was aimed to make it impossible for British teachers to continue getting posts in public schools in the Balearic Islands and I ignore if this has been the case in all the autonomies of Spain.

This ban is a direct consequence of Brexit, and I must admit that it came as a shock, as not only have I been living in Spain for nearly three decades, but all my qualifications are from Spanish universities. Apparently, there is nothing I can do about it, as teacher labour unions go along with the policy in a tone within the lines of ‘like it or lump it mate!’

I could rant and rave at the government for passing such an unfair law, for using teachers as a scapegoat and applying a mean blackmail strategy to improve the relationship between the United Kingdom and Spain, but I can’t be bothered, and prefer to focus all my energy in another direction, reinventing myself. I’m not saying that I have been stopped in my tracks, what I’m actually saying is that this situation will come as an opportunity to better myself, as the saying goes ‘what doesn’t kill you, makes you strong.’

So here I am. The government of Spain has taken away classrooms, students and salary. The government has wiped away, in the blink of an eye, the years I have devoted to my career. However, what the government cannot take away, is my passion for teaching. The government of Spain said, ‘You’re no longer a language teacher at the EOI.’ (Official Language School), which is basically true, but the government doesn’t seem to be aware that a teacher who loves her job, will teach anyway, be this at the EOI, at secondary or in a virtual environment. What the government also fails to acknowledge is, that there is no such thing as placing boundaries to teaching and learning in the Digital Era, and that people like me have the tendency to grab opportunities with both hands, and continue with their life, despite having all the odds stacked against them.

This blog, will continue and will even improve in due time, so you can bet your last dollar, that you’ll be seeing me around with some very good stuff. Just let me take a breath and get back on my feet, and I’ll be back.

A big hug to all the people that throughout these years, have visited my blog, over 60 thousand visitors, can’t be wrong!

Serena

undaunted

Thank you EVER SO much!

blogdeserena2 Comments
One of our lovely FFP2 masks

Thank you ever so much educational authorities of Spain for your consideration towards the safety of EOI teachers of Majorca in times of COVID-19. As I can see that you have considered that teachers that remain in classes for four hours a day, (plus extra time within the premises), with a maximum of 19 students, are not at risk, and therefore, are not in the need of vaccination against COVID-19. Thank you ever so much, for finally reaching the decision of providing us with a batch of FFP2 masks. That was such a kind gesture on your behalf! Some of us now feel much safer doing those things that teachers usually do such as: communicate with students, move around the classroom hither and thither, pick up assignments, hand out assignments, correct assignments, and stuff of the kind that form the multiple everyday activities of a teacher (not to mention that we now clean all the furniture and make sure the classroom is well ventilated).

I personally think it would have been a wiser decision to have allowed teachers to decide for themselves on the issue of whether they want to be vaccinated or not, depending on their own particular situation, but I suppose you reached your decision after a very hard and difficult debate, bearing in mind all the facts. By the way, a 90 per cent of us share a secondary school with secondary students and teachers and therefore, do NOT work in an isolated building as one of your spokespersons mistakenly claimed during an interview. It goes without saying, that it would be really nice if you could check this info.